A Lot Like Fate
by purtyinpink71121
Summary: Rory was adopted by Luke when she was a wee little child. What happens when Lorelai moves to Stars Hollow and meets them? Will sparks fly? READ&REVIEW! very AU! JavaJunkie!
1. Prolouge

1**A Lot Like Fate**

**Prologue**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone that you recognize, they all belong to ASP. Don't sue me please!

**A/N:** I have a new-found obsession with Gilmore Girls, which led to an obsession with GG fanfiction, which led to this story. Don't worry, I haven't given up on any of my other stories. Well, anyway, I hope you like this beginning! I know it's short, but it's just a prologue, and with REVIEWS from you guys, you should have the next chapter up soon. And now without further ado, our feature presentation!

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Lorelai Gilmore froze, holding a pregnancy test in her shaky left hand. Her boyfriend, Christopher Hayden, was looking at her expectantly, awaiting the news.

"Well..." he said. She looked up at him.

"It's pink," she said in barely a whisper. Chris looked at her, shocked.

"Wow. Look Lor, I'm really sorry," Chris said. She felt tears come to her eyes.

"Get out. Now! You're such an ass! I never want to see you again, get out of my house and out of my life!" Lorelai screamed. He turned and walked out, not even bothering to argue with her. He knew Lorelai, and was sure she would come around.

As soon as he left, Lorelai sat down on the couch slowly. How could this have happened? How could Chris have lied to her and said there was no possible way she could get pregnant if she was under 17? _This is exactly what happens when you don't have a health class in school._ Lorelai thought. She couldn't believe it was happening. She knew that her mother was going to make her put the baby up for adoption, and there was no way she could fight it. She was, after all, still a minor. Only 16.

She really was in a mess. But maybe it was better off this way. Then she could finish up high school and college. And someday, maybe, she would find her child.

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**A/N: Skip ahead to early December that year. Lorelai is a junior, refuses to talk to Chris at all, and Rory was just born just two months ago, and Luke's dad just died on November 30 that year.**

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Luke Danes will never know how Rachel talked him into it. All he knew was that she wanted a baby, and suddenly he found himself in an orphanage in Hartford with her. Part of his thinking was that Liz had just had her little baby boy, and she seemed so happy. He needed happiness, especially now that his dad was gone. **(A/N: I know his dad wouldn't be dead yet, but hey, it's my story, that's the definition of AU!)**

Even though he was only 19 at the time, and they weren't planning on getting a kid just then, he couldn't help but stop when he saw that little baby girl. She was very young, younger than almost any of the other kids, and she had the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen.

"Hello," said a lady, coming up from behind Luke, "Can I help you two with anything?" Luke nodded.

"What is this little girl's name?" Luke asked, motioning to the baby looking up with intrest.

"Lorelai Leigh Gilmore. Rory as a nickname. Isn't she precious? She just came in about two weeks ago," said the lady kindly. Rachel stood, waiting, surprised that Luke was taking such an interest in that child.

"Can I hold her?" Luke asked. The woman nodded and handed the infant over to Luke. As soon as he took hold of her, he felt his heart lift. Without a doubt in his mind, he knew that he wanted this child.

Rachel held Rory next, and agreed that she wanted to adopt the cutie. Luke and Rachel filled out all of the adoption papers and found out all about the baby's past. As much as they could anyway.

Apparently her mom was just 16 when she had Rory. She loved her baby, and desperately wanted to keep her, but her parents would not allow it. Luke did find out that her mom was devastated the day she had to give Rory up. Her only request, other than Rory getting a good home, was that her new parents did not change her name. There was supposedly a lot of family history behind the name Lorelai, as that had been Rory's mom's name as well. Luke locked away the name Lorelai Gilmore in the back of her mind, in case Rory were to ever ask. Lorelai Gilmore. Definitely a name he had to remember.

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Well...? I really hope you like it! Tell me what you think, by reviewing! And now... for the poem...

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	2. Chapter 1, They meet again!

**A Lot Like Fate**

**Chapter One: They meet again**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything except the plot. And Mia's last name. I made it up because I don't know what it really is...

**A/N:** Hey y'all! Pretty fast update no? Well, I hope you all like this chapter! THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL OF MY REVIEWERS! 23? On one chapter? Keep it up! Also, I would like to say that Luke and Lorelai's meeting is not like it is in the real show. There is no horoscope or anything like that, because I had to work Rory in. So, anyway, read on, and review at the end!

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Luke Danes rushed around his small town diner, taking orders, refilling coffee, and stopping for an occasional three- minute chat with the townees. The diner was unusually busy this morning, as it was the first day of school for all of the children is Stars Hollow, and he had a 'Kids eat half off' special today. It was also his daughter's first day of shcool. Speaking of her...

"Rory!" Luke yelled up the stairs to their apartment. It was busy, and he could definitely use some help as soon as possible.

"Coming dad!" came the voice of Rory Danes floating down the staircase. Luke shook his head and sighed as he brought Miss Patty her pancakes. Knowing Rory, it would be a while until she actually came down. A few minutes passed, and still Rory had not come down.

"Rory! I need you now, come on!" Luke yelled as yet another costumer walked into the diner. Luke looked up and saw that it was a woman who looked to be about 27 or 28.

"Ignore the sign, I'll be with you in a second," Luke said, rushing by the woman, carrying four hot plates, and gesturing to the "Please wait to be seated," sign. The woman took at seat by the window, at one of the only remaining tables.

"Rory! Rory!" Luke said moving over to the staircase and shouting up at her.

"I'll be down in a second dad!" She called yet again. Luke sighed in frustration, beginning to lose his patience. He exhaled deeply and leaned against the counter for a second to survey what needed to be done. He saw the brunette that had come in earlier and walked over to her table. Someone a few tables away was trying to flag him down for a coffee refill, and Luke tried yet again to get his daughter down there.

"Lorelai! I need you now dammit!" He called, stopping just short of the woman's table and turning a quarter of the way so he was facing the stairs. He shook his head and turned to see the woman smirking at him. It was then that Luke noticed just how pretty she was.

"What?" he said, faltering a bit under her gaze. Partly because she was so pretty, and partly because she seemed to have a mischievous glint in her eye.

"I really think we should get to know each other a little before we jump to something like that," she said. Luke frowned, having absolutely no idea what she was talking about.

"Hi. My name is Lorelai Gilmore and you apparently need me dammit," she said, smirking at him. He just stood there in a trance. He quickly snapped out of it though.

"Oh, I was talking to my daughter, who needs to get her **ass down here**," Luke said, raising his voice on the last three words so Rory could hear him too, "I'm Luke by the way. Uh, can I get you something to eat?" he continued. Lorelai looked up and then realized that he had an order pad in his hand.

"Oh, yeah. Can I get..." Lorelai started to say, but was interrupted by Rory finally making her appearance in the diner.

"I'm here Dad, what do you need?" Rory said, tying an apron on over her clothes as she walked.

"About damn time Rory," Luke muttered before turning back to Lorelai, "Sorry, what were you saying?" Lorelai just looked at him rather confused.

"I thought your daughter's name was Lorelai," she said.

"It is. Rory is a nickname. Now what can I get you?" Luke pressed. As much as he would love to continue talking to Lorelai, the diner was really busy.

"Coffee, pancakes, and bacon please," Lorelai answered, sensing she couldn't hog the sexy diner man all day, as much as she wanted to. There was just something about him...

Luke walked away to give the order to the chef and came back moments later with her coffee. Lorelai waited for her food, her stomach growling. She had heard a few days ago that the food was really good here, and was much looking forward to it. A few minutes went by and her food was ready.

"Dad, who are the pancakes and bacon for?" Rory said, picking up the plates

"Over there, table seven," Luke said, waving his hand in the general direction of Lorelai's table. Rory walked over to the table, and handed her the food. Rory stopped, instead of just walking away. This woman seemed so familiar, yet so... unfamiliar. Rory had never seen her around, and decided to stop and talk for a second

"Hey, are you new here? I've never seen you before," Rory said. Lorelai looked up and smiled.

"Actually, yes. I just moved here last week. I'm going to look for a job today. I'm Lorelai by the way," Rory's face lit up.

"That's my name! Only I usually go by Rory," she said. Lorelai smiled and nodded. She was definitely taking a liking to this girl.

"Yeah, I was just talking to your dad. By the way, what's with the uniform?" Lorelai said, motioning to the sweater vest and plaid kilt the girl was wearing. Rory smiled, as if she was glad that someone had asked.

"Actually, today is my first day at Chilton Junior High," Rory said, beaming.

"Congratulations!" Lorelai said, "How old are you by the way? 11? 12?"

"I'm 11, but I'll be 12 in October. I'm starting sixth grade," Rory said. She then looked at her watch and gasped.

"Oh no! I have to get going! It was nice meeting you," she said to Lorelai before turning around toward her dad, "Dad! We need to get to Chilton, I'm going to be late!" Luke looked at his watch and saw they were in serious danger of being late.

"I gotta take my daughter to school Caesar. Take over!" he yelled before running out the door with Rory right behind him.

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Once Lorelai had finished her food, which was excellent by the way, she paid for it and headed out the door in search for a job.

After she was forced to give up her daughter, she had finished high school and then gone on to college where she majored in Business Management. She had only ever had two real jobs, one as a shoe sales lady in a department store (didn't work out. She spent the whole time talking to costumers and barely sold any shoes), and she spent the last four years at a hotel in Michigan, where she used to live.

However, a horrible break-up with her boyfriend had inspired her move back to Connecticut where she grew up. She was still interested in working at either a hotel or an inn, as she had loved her job.

_Wham!_ Lorelai had been so lost in thought that she was hardly looking where she was going until she had run right into someone.

"Oh, I am so sorry," Lorelai said, looking down at the woman who was now on the ground. She had been carrying three large, heavy-looking bags of groceries.

"Oh, don't worry about it. I'll be fine," she said as Lorelai helped her off the ground, "Hey, are you new here? I haven't seen you around before." Lorelai nodded as she helped the woman pick up the groceries.

"Yeah, I am. I was just going job hunting," Lorelai said. She woman looked up and smiled.

"Well, welcome to Stars Hollow. I'm Sookie," she said, holding out her hand as the two women stood up again.

"Hello. I'm Lorelai," Lorelai said, shaking her hand.

"So, you said you were looking for work. What are you interested in? Maybe I can steer you in the right direction," Sookie said.

"Well is there maybe and inn or something like that around?" Lorelai asked. Sookie's face lit up.

"Yes! The Independence Inn! I'm actually a chef there, hence the groceries," Sookie said, "and, we are looking for a new events coordinator, as the old one had a horrible accident with a vacuum cleaner. Long story..." Sookie continued, causing Lorelai to laugh.

"That sounds great. Lead the way," Lorelai said, smiling. They walked along the street for about 10 minutes until the reached the Independence Inn. Sooking walked straight through to the kitchen and told Lorelai to go to the front desk and ask for Mia.

Lorelai was greeted by a scowling French man who was flipping throught a magazine idly and barely looking up as Lorelai approached.

"Hello, my name is Lorelai Gilmore," Lorelai said in her usual perky tone. The man just looked up and scowled at her.

"If you do not mind, I am very busy," he said in a heavy French accent.

"Um, okay, but do you know where I could find a woman named Mia?" Lorelai said. The man looked up at her again.

"Well, that would depend on what you mean by Mia. If it's Mia Hamm, I am afraid I cannot help you. If it's Mia Domapoli, she is here somewhere. Go find her yourself, I am extremely busy," he said. Lorelai rolled her eyes, getting a little annoyed with this man. She opened her mouth to respond when suddenly a woman came bustling into the room.

"Michel, what have I told you about being polite?" the woman said, looking pointedly at the French man, who just rolled his eyes and went back to reading his magazine.

"Sorry about that. I'm Mia Domapoli, I heard you were looking for me?" the woman called Mia said. Lorelai nodded.

"Yes, my name is Lorelai Gilmore and I heard you had a job opening. I was wondering if we could set up an interview," she said.

"Well, actually, I'm free right now, if you would like to come into my office, we can talk," Mia said. Lorelai nodded and followed her into her office.

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Lorelai walked into her house hours later. She had a feeling the interview had gone well, but she had to wait until later tonight or tomorrow until she found out. If she got a call, she had the job. If not... she wasn't so lucky.

Lorelai walked into the kitchen and put down her keys and purse on the table. She walked to the fridge and took out a carton of ice cream. As she began to eat she looked around the large, empty house.

It was times like this, sitting and eating chocolate ice cream from the carton that she got really lonely. She thought back to John, her now ex-boyfriend and shivered at the thought of him.

She had thought things were going so well with him. She had almost thought that he was the one. Until he started cheating on her that is. Until he started getting violent and hitting her.

Lorelai sighed and put the ice cream away in the freezer and looked for something better to eat. Normally she wouldn't even consider doing that, but a voice was echoing through her head. It was John's voice.

_You will never amount to anything Lorelai. You'll just sit at home eating ice cream and other junk food for the rest of your life. You're worthless. Absolutely worthless._

Those had been the last words he had said to her. That was the night he had hit her, after she confirmed her suspicions that he was cheating. She had kicked him out and left the next morning for Stars Hollow.

Just then the phone rang, breaking her from her thoughts. It was then that she realized she had been crying. She wiped her eyes, and tried to compose herself, but when she was ready to talk, it was already going to voice mail. Her own voice filled the room.

"Hey, this is Lorelai Gilmore. Here's the beep, hopefully you know what to do with it," _BEEP!_

"Hello Lorelai, this is Mia, from the Independence Inn. I seem to have caught you at a bad time, but I just wanted to let you know you got the job. I'll give you the rest of the week to get settled in at your new house, and unless I hear different, I'll expect to see you at work on Monday morning at 8:00 sharp. Congratulations, and I'll see you then!"

The machine beeped as the message ended, and Lorelai smiled to herself. Maybe her life wasn't so bad after all.

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Yayyy, chapter one is done! Haha, I made a rhyme! Woo hoo! Sooo... REVIEW!

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	3. Chapter 2, The Dream

**A Lot Like Fate**

**Chapter Two: The Dream**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything you recognize... NO HARM NO FOUL! NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT NO SUING!

**A/N:** Here is the next chapter! I hope you guys like it! Sorry it's been kind of a while since I've updated... but I'm leaving for camp today so I wanted to get this up. Also, I should have a chapter of A Second Chance up when I get home from camp... somewhere around August 7. Hope you like it!

**A/N2:** **_READ THIS NOW!_**Okay, I just wanted to say a little bit about why Lorelai doesn't know that Rory is _Rory._ I tried to include this in the chapter, but basically Lorelai was still focusing all her attention on Rory. When she was put up for adoption, Lorelai would visit Rory in the orphanage every day, usually skipping school to do it. Also, when Rory was adopted, she would go to the orphanage every day and try to harass the people into telling her who adopted her daughter (Remember it is Lorelai... she can be pretty persuasive). So anyway, seeing all of this, and wanting her daughter to forget all about Rory, Emily told her that she got a call from the people who adopted Rory saying that she had died of heart troubles about two months after being adopted. That didn't really happen of course, but it's Emily, and she 'thought it was best'. Lorelai doesn't know that is a lie, but still finds it hard to believe. Phew, so there you go! I hope that clears some stuff up! Enjoy!

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A man was slowly advancing on a woman with dark curly hair covering her face. He was yelling at her, screaming even. She just stood there, taking it all in, not saying a word to him. He stopped talking, and he took a menacing step towards her. The woman gasped and began talking, fire in her eyes. She barely got a sentence out, however, before his came towards her and slapped her across the face…

"Dad!" Rory screamed, sitting bold upright in her bed, beads of sweat dripping down her face.

Luke rushed into her room. He looked shocked to find her crying in her bed, clutching the sheets in her hands.

"What's wrong princess?" Luke asked, sitting down next to her and letting her cry on her shoulder. She explained all about the dream, and was sobbing by the end of it. She'd had similar dreams before, but never hand the man ever actually slapped the curly-headed woman. Neither she nor Luke could figure out why she was having dreams like this, as they had only started recently, and they also had no idea who either of the people were, especially as she never even saw the woman's face.

"Just remember honey, it's only a dream," Luke said. Rory shook her head.

"I know. But it just seems so real. I mean what are the odds that I am going to have a dream almost every night like this, only slightly different every time? And why do I feel like I actually know that lady? Ugh," Rory sighed. Luke looked at her sadly. Although she was past the 'monster-under-the-bed-phase', he knew that these dreams were not much better.

"Come on now, don't think like that. It'll all be okay," Luke said. Rory nodded, trying to believe him.

"Thanks dad. I love you," Rory said, wiping her eyes off.

"Love you too kid," Luke said softly. Rory smiled.

"Aw, you old softy! Good thing none of the townees see you like this, or you would definitely loose your tough guy reputation," Rory said.

"Yeah, well," Luke said gruffly, blushing slightly. He was, however, secretly happy that was back in her usual joking mood.

"Thanks Dad. I think I'm gonna try to get back to sleep now," Rory said, hugging Luke tightly. Luke hugged her back and tucked her back into bed. As he left the room he turned off the light as he went, hoping Rory would forget about the dream.

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Lorelai woke up at around 10:15 on Saturday morning. She had been spending her week unpacking and now that it was Saturday she could take a break.

She had gone back to that diner two more times that week. They food remained really good, and she enjoyed the company as well, with Luke and Rory.

As she walked out the door at around 10:45, she was headed to Lukes. She decided to walk there because it wasn't very far, and it was one of the last hot days that year.

She arrived to find the diner was not very busy at all. There were only about four people in there. Rory was sitting on a stool by the counter, doing some homework and Luke was wiping down the counter, occasionally making her move papers so he could wipe under them.

Lorelai walked up to the counter and sat down next to Rory. Luke looked up as she entered and felt a smile tug at his lips.

"Wearing flannel again today I see," Lorelai said in way of a greeting. This was the fourth time he had worn a flannel shirt, wouldn't he have more variety? Then again she was used to living in Michigan, in a town so snobbish and preppy it almost made you want to sue J.Crew for selling that many white polos. **(A/N: Just a little stab at my home town... gotta love GP, lol)** Rory snorted.

"Hah. I all the eleven years I have known hime, he has never once worn something that wasn't flannel. It's like he has an endless supply," Rory joked.

"Endless supply of flannel, huh? Sounds interesting," Lorelai quipped, setting her purse down on the counter.

"What can I get you?" Luke asked gruffly, scowling at them.

"Uh, what time is it?" Lorelai asked.

"11:06, why?" Rory responded.

"Is it weird to have a burger at this time in Connecticut?" Lorelai asked, looking around at all of the people eating breakfast food, but really having a craving for a hamburger.

"It'll kill you at any hour," Luke grumbled, giving her a look.

"Oh, dad," Rory said, rolling her eyes, "It's not that odd, although you don't see it much. Then again, when you have Kirk eating here 24/7, nothing really seems weird anymore," Rory said. Lorelai nodded. She had briefly met the man the other day and he had really weirded her out.

"Gotcha. Thanks for the cultural help. Where I used to live in Michigan was in this little town called Grosse Pointe which was about a 5 minute drive away from Detroit, where you can walk into a McDonald's at any time of the day and find a fat black guy eating a cheeseburger or three," Lorelai said. When she finished her little anecdote, Luke was looked at her like she was insane.

"What?" she asked, frowning.

"You ate at McDonald's? It's a wonder you are still alive today. That stuff will kill you, and sooner rather than later!" Luke said, scowling. Rory giggled to herself, remembering the time when she was 8 when she had asked to eat at a McDonald's in Hartford. That had been one heck of a lecture.

"No, I hardly ever went there, the food sucked. Ronald McDonald has nothing on you by friend," Lorelai said.

"If you never went there how do you know the food is no good?" Rory asked.

"Oh, well, once in a while my boy... ex-boyfriend would drag me in there," Lorelai said, a little flustered by her almost slip-up.

"Hm... well, what can I get you?" Luke asked, purposely not mentioning the boy... ex-boyfriend thing. Lorelai smiled graciously.

"Well, I guess I'll compromise. A bacon double cheeseburger with extra bacon on the side. Oh, and coffee to drink please," Lorelai said. Luke scowled at her food choices, but when back to fix her meal anyway, asking Rory to ger Lorelai her coffee.

Rory got up off her stool and walked around the counter to get the coffee pot and a mug. She filled it up about 3/4 full and Lorelai grabbed it and took a long sip.

"Mmm, this is the best coffee in the world," Lorelai sighed in contentment. Rory smiled.

"Don't I know it," Rory said, laughing. Lorelai raised an eyebrow.

"You actually drink coffee while living with Osama bin Healthy over there?" Lorelai asked in surprise.

"Of course. I need my lifeline, now don't I?" Rory laughed. Luke rolled his eyes in the kitchen. Lorelai smirked.

_I'm really starting to like this girl_, Lorelai thought,_ She just seems so familiar too. Like I've known her my whole life. And the names are suspicious too. Lorelai_ and _Rory? If I didn't know any better, I would say she was_ my_ Rory,_ But Lorelai stopped right there.

There was no way this girl was actually her daughter. First of all, she probably wasn't even adopted. Besides, Lorelai's mom had told her that Rory had died of heart complications when she was a baby. Lorelai felt tears come to her eyes as she thought of the memory. It was certainly a horrible feeling to be out trying to find your kid only to come home and find out that she was gone.

"Here's your food, Lorelai," Luke said, bringing the plates of "compromise lunchfast food" to the table. Yes, that's the word, lunchfast. Brunches were fancy and this was... well, a cheeseburger.

"Oh, thanks," Lorelai said, brushing the hair out of her face and trying to hold in the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. She moved to pick up her cheeseburger but was stopped by something Luke said.

"What happened to your cheek there?" Luke asked. Lorelai froze and her head shot up to look at him.

"Nothing, what do you mean?" Lorelai replied hastily. She stopped her hand from flying up to her cheek at the last second. She knew there was a small bruise on her cheek still from where John had hit her, but she had been just hoping that no one could see it through her foundation.

"It looks like you have some kind of a bruise on it," Luke said. Lorelai looked at him, trying to figure out what to say. She glanced over at Rory who nodded in afreement.

"Yeah, I think I see it," Rory said. Being only 11, she didn't think too much into it. Luke however, suspected it was something more serious and was still looking at Lorelai.

"Oh, this? Silly me, how could I forget about that? I, uh, ran into the edge of my wardrobe. Yep, that's, uh, that's what happened. I'm not proud of it, but hey," Lorelai said. Rory laughed a little bit whiled Luke looked at her unconvinced. However, he dropped it.

Even though it seemed much longer, Luke had only known Lorelai for a week. And there was only so much you could get out of someone after just a week. So Luke left it, sure it would come up again another day.

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**Well? Did you guys like it? I hope you did! Leave me a review and tell me what you thought of it! List one specific thing you liked! Thanks y'all!**

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	4. Chapter 3, Scene in a Mall

**A Lot Like Fate**

**Chapter Three: Scene in a Mall**

**Disclaimer:** Thinking of how the finale went... I don't really want them anymore... And also I don't own Sephora or the Sharper Image... I don't know if I needed to put that but I did anyway.

**A/N:** Here's a chapter! You guys should think of yourselves and lucky, because not only is this a pretty quick update... LOOK AT THE LENGTH OF THIS CHAPTER! I checked all of my stories, and this is the longest chapter I've ever written, in any story I've done! So be thankful! And show me your thankfulness by REVIEWING!

**A/N2:** I made a goof! In the first chapter I said that Luke had called out to Caesar to take over while he took Rory to school... That was a mess up, Caesar didn't work there yet. So just pretend that Luke said Joe! BTW, I made up Joe...

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Over the next week and a half, Lorelai's days began to fall into a pattern. She would get up at 7, and head over to Luke's for breakfast, first thing in the morning. She liked talking to Rory, and bugging Luke. Not to mention the food kicked ass compared to everything else in town. Then she headed off to work, where she was getting pretty close with Sookie, the chef who had helped her secure her job. She would usually eat lunch at the Inn, except for the two times she got a bit of a break. Those days she had headed to Luke's for coffee and a short chat.

Once she was done with work at 7:30, she either went home and ordered take-out in front of the TV, or went to Luke's. She wasn't usually one who liked schedules, but this one was looking pretty good since she ended up going to Luke's once or twice a day.

She enjoyed talking to Rory, listening to her go on and on about a horrible girl named Paris who knocked the books out of her hands on the first day, or hearing her beg her dad to give her something normal to eat, such as fries.

Luke was also a big part of Lorelai going to Luke's every day. Actually he was the main reason she went. Lorelai was getting pretty close to Luke, and while there was a lot about him she couldn't have known just be being his friend for three weeks, she still couldn't help but feel she had known him her whole life. Yes, they were definitely getting close.

Lorelai walked into the diner one Wednesday in an especially happy mood. She had gotten a call from her mother that morning saying that the elder Gilmores would be going out of town for a month and would not be back until the last week of October, just in time for Halloween. However, this meant that Lorelai would not have to deal with them for a month, hence the wonderful mood.

Lorelai walked inside, said hello to Miss Patty who was sitting near the door, and heard a scream coming from Luke. Lorelai walked over to her usual stool at the counter and looked at him oddly. He was talking on the phone, and was apparently not happy with what was being said on the other line.

"Dammit! Why do I have to go to this?... Yes, I know that, I... Why won't you just come to the diner?... Sure, I'll hold, anything to stop talking to you," Luke was saying. Lorelai looked at him, wondering what the problem was.

"Hi, Lorelai" Rory said, coming up behind Lorelai.

"Hey Rory. Who is your dad talking to?" Lorelai asked, frowning slightly.

"I don't know, but from the gist of the conversation, I think it's someone who wants Dad to go to some kind of meeting or something in Hartford on Saturday. He doesn't want to go," Rory responded, "He says it's a waste of time, and if he left then he would either have to hire someone to take care of the diner, or close for the day, either one being a waste of money."

"Ah," Lorelai said in understanding.

"Yes, I'm still here, unfortunately," Luke said, putting one hand on the counter in front of Lorelai and sighing into the phone.

"Oh, the fun is back," Lorelai whispered to Rory, who giggled.

Luke looked at Lorelai when he heard her speak, and his face showed that he just realized she was there.

"When did you get here?" he mouthed to her.

"A few minutes ago," Lorelai answered. Luke nodded and reached down to get a mug for her coffee. He turned around to get the coffee pot, trying to say something to the person on the phone but getting cut off.

"Thanks," Lorelai whispered, happy that he remembered she would want coffee. Luke nodded at her, smiling slightly.

"Look, I'm really getting sick of talking to you... fine! Alright? Fine, I'll go, happy now?... No, thank _you_ Frank," Luke finished sarcastically before slamming the phone down on the hook.

"What was that all about?" Lorelai asked as Luke got her a chocolate chip muffin.

"Well, I own the building next door, and some business guy wants me to rent it to him to make some kind of stupid store, and he's making me go all the way to Hartford to do this business crap instead of him just coming to the diner," Luke ranted.

"Oh," Lorelai said sympathetically. She's had to deal with jerks like that many times in her life.

"So now I need to find someone to help run the diner in addition to Joe because I'm not going to be here. And I need to find someone to watch Rory while I'm gone," Luke said, slamming a plate of eggs in front of the person next to Lorelai, his gaze remaining on her.

"Hmm," Lorelai said, an idea forming in her head. She swallowed the bite of muffin in her mouth and looked up at Luke, her head cocked to one side.

"What?" Luke asked curiously.

"Well, I was just thinking, if you need someone to watch Rory, I could take her. We could go to Hartford, do a little bit of shopping, get some lunch, maybe a movie after," Lorelai said. Rory, who was pouring coffee for Kirk at a nearby table, whipped around to look at her dad, spilling a little bit of coffee on Kirk.

"Oh, Dad, can I go?" Rory asked, looking up at Luke with those big blue Rory eyes. Luke opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by Kirk.

"Ahh! I've been burned! I think I'm dying!" Kirk yelled, looking at the small brown spot on his left hand, and the slightly larger spot on his arm.

"Sorry!" Rory said, holding a napkin out to him.

"I can't move, I'm dying from the horrible burn on my hand!" Kirk said.

"You're not dying Kirk," Luke said, aggrivated.

"How would you know? Can you feel the pain I am experiencing?" he asked.

"If you don't stop talking Kirk, I'll make it so you actually have some pain to feel, how does that sound?" Luke said.

"Dad, back to the subject at hand, can I please go with Lorelai?" Rory begged, setting the offending coffee pot on the counter and looking at her dad.

"Well..." Luke said, looking at the two women in front of him. His daughter and his faithful costumer/new best friend/crush. The two people who could probably talk him into anything with some persuasion.

"Come on, it'd be fun. Plus you won't have to worry about hiring some shady sitter, you'll know she is safe with me," said the person with the long, slash filled name.

"Sure, I guess so. That would be one less thing to worry about," Luke said. Although they hadn't known Lorelai for long, Rory was getting pretty close with her, and Luke trusted her a lot for someone he had not even known for a month.

"Yay!" Rory said. She checked her watch and said, "I'm going to go run to Lane's really quick and tell her, then I have to leave for school. See you this afternoon, bye Dad," Rory said, kissing Luke on the cheek and running out the door with her yellow backpack.

"So what time do you need to be in Hartford?" Lorelai asked, looking back at Luke.

"12," Luke grunted, watching her daughter go.

"Okay, so I'll stop by the dinner to pick up Rory at around 11:30 then," Lorelai said.

"Sure, sounds good. I can't imagine this going later than 4, but I'll call you if there is a change," Luke said. Lorelai nodded and smiled.

"Sounds good. Well, I'd better be off to work. See you later," Lorelai said, picking up her purse and heading out the door. Luke watched her go with a small smile on his face.

"What are you looking at honey?" Patty asked, looking at Luke with a smirk on her face.

"Nothing," Luke said. He looked away, blushing slightly at being caught, and continued his work. He knew he would have to watch himself or else more people than just Miss Patty would be suspicious of his feelings towards Lorelai. And God only knows how that would turn out.

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"Good morning all," Lorelai said cheerily, walking into the diner at 11:25 on Saturday.

"CAESAR!" came a yell from the kitchen as a loud crash echoed through the diner.

"What's going on?" Lorelai whispered to Babette, taking a seat at a table next to hers.

"It's the new guy Luke hired to help Joe out while he was gone today. His name is Caesar, and believe me suga the guys a total flake, but Luke seems to like him well enough and he can tell the difference between a bagel and a doughnut, so what can you do?" Babette said.

"Huh," Lorelai said, looking around the diner for Rory. She was no where to be found.

"Hey, Luke, where is Rory?" Lorelai asked as Luke came up to her with Caesar in tow.

"Upstairs," Luke said. He looked behind him and said, "I'll go get her, Caesar will take your order," He started to walk away but turned around and whispered in her ear, "Tell me if he screws anything up, okay? Thanks," He walked away and Lorelai tried to hide the fact that his sexy voice and face so close to hers had sent shivers up her spine.

"Hello, what can I get you?" Caesar asked, smiling brightly.

"Coffee to go," Lorelai said. She glanced at the stairs where Rory was walking down and added, "Make that two."

"Hey Rory," Lorelai said, getting up when the young girl reached her.

"Hi," Rory said, smiling.

"Well, I had better get going," Luke said. Glancing at Caesar he added, "Listen to Joe." Caesar nodded.

"Bye Rory, be good," Luke said, giving his daughter a hug and a kiss on the cheek. When they let go, Luke discretely slipped three 20's in Rory's pocket, "Buy yourself something nice," he whispered, making her smile.

"Bye Lorelai. I'll call you if anything changes or else I'll pick up Rory at your place at around 4:30," Luke said.

"Sounds good," Lorelai said. Luke nods and smiles at her briefly before heading out the door and getting into his truck. Lorelai watched him for a second before turning to Rory.

"You ready?" Lorelai asked. Rory nodded and the two girls headed for the door. However, Lorelai stopped short just before walking out into the street.

"Caesar?" Lorelai said, going over to the counter and getting her coffees. Rory smiled as Lorelai handed her a cup.

"Thank you," she said and then two Lorelais headed out the door.

The drive into Hartford was very eventful. The girls talked, sung along with the radio, and just got to know a little more about each other. When they finally arrived at the mall, both of them were ready for lunch.

"Well, I'm officially starving," Lorelai said as she threw away her coffee cup from Luke's, "Mind if we get lunch first?"

"Not at all. I'm actually pretty hungry myself," Rory said, also throwing away her cup. They wandered around for a few minutes before Lorelai spoke up.

"Hey, do you have any idea where we are going?" Lorelai said, glancing over at Rory, who shook her head.

"No, I haven't been to this mall for probably 5 months or so," Rory responded.

"Oh yeah? Well I haven't been here since I was about 16. So HA! I win," Lorelai said, sticking her tongue out at Rory. Both girls laughed.

"Let's go look for a directory, or a map, or something," Rory said. Lorelai agreed and the girls found a directory shortly after. They found out the food court was on the third floor and walked there together.

"Wow. I'd forgotten how heavenly this food court was," Lorelai said, staring out at all the different food choices.

"I know, this place is crazy! Chinese, Mexican, Indian... I don't know where to start," Rory said.

"I say we split up and get some of everything. I'll get the left side and you get the right side," Lorelai said, pointing out who was to get what food.

"Deal," Rory said.

"Okay... BREAK!" Lorelai yelled, and both girls headed out to get some food. After Lorelai got two trays, she was starting to think she couldn't really carry anymore, so she tried to scope out a cute employee to help her carry he trays. As luck would have it, she found two guys who were willing to help her, so she got the rest of her food and walked over to an empty table.

The guys set down all the food, and walked away. Moments later, she was joined by Rory, who, to her surprise, was balancing five trays on her arms and didn't have anyone to help her carry the huge amounts of food.

"Woah, jeez, how did you carry all of that stuff?" Lorelai asked as Rory set the trays down on the table.

"Well, I do work at a diner..." Rory said.

"Oh, right," Lorelai said, chuckling slightly. The girls looked at all the food, wondering where to begin.

"Do you think we got a little bit too much food?" Rory asked. Lorelai gasped.

"No!" She exclaimed. Looking at the food again, however, she frowned, "Yeah okay, maybe." Rory laughed, and the girls agreed to just eat as much as they could.

A piece of pizza, two tacos, some sushi, some Indian chicken, a Chinese dumpling and two large cokes later, they were full to bursting.

"Wow. I haven't eaten that much food in a long time," Rory said. Lorelai smiled.

"Give me ten minutes and I'll be ready for ice cream," she said. Rory laughed.

"I think I'm going to need a little bit longer than ten minutes," she said.

"Eh, that's cool. You are, after all, out of practice. But don't worry, I'll make a world champion eater of you yet," Lorelai responded, draining the rest of her coke. Rory laughed and the girls went to throw away their trays. They looked out at the mall, and instantly found a store that had cute clothes.

"Oh, let's start out there!" Rory said, walking into the store, Lorelai on her heels. The girls shopped for about an hour in that store, and each came out with two bags, Rory having spent all of her money.

"Wow, they had a lot of cute stuff in that store!" Lorelai said, readjusting her bags.

"Yeah," Rory agreed, looking in one of her bags to make sure she hadn't forgotten a pair of shoes she had bought.

"So what now?" Lorelai said. Rory shrugged, and the girls continued to walk around the mall, looking for someplace to go next.

"Hey, let's go in there!" Lorelai said, spotting a Sephora store.

"Sephora?" Rory asked, having never been in the make-up store, being not even 12.

"Yeah, here I want to show you something," Lorelai said, walking in and setting her bags down. Rory followed suit.

"What's with all of the nail polish?" Rory said, spotting the many bottles.

"They're free, so you can see what the colors look like," Lorelai explained. She then picked up a bottle and painted the thumb of her left hand bright pink.

"And we can really do this? Just paint our nails right in the store?" Rory asked, getting a little skeptical.

"Yeah, why else would they put out free nail polish? Gosh me and my friends used to come here and do this almost ever weekend back when I was in high school," Lorelai said, chuckling at the memory. Rory smiled and figured that if Lorelai had never gotten in trouble for it before it must be okay.

She grabbed a bottle of purple and did a nail on her left hand, but stopped before continuing on to the next finger. She grabbed another bottle (blue with sparkles) and painted another nail. She and Lorelai proceeded to paint each of their nails a different color, laughing at how ridiculous they ended up looking.

"Wow," Rory said when they were both finished, looking at their hands.

"I'd say we did a pretty dang good job, wouldn't you?" Lorelai said. Rory giggled and nodded. She then bent down to pick up her shopping bags but saw a problem.

"Wait, how do we pick up our bags without our nails getting messed up?" she asked. Lorelai frowned and looked down at her bags.

"I don't know..." Lorelai said. Both girls stood there for a few seconds and tired to think of something. Rory looked around and saw a Sharper Image, and was instantly stuck with a brilliant idea.

"I know! Here, follow me," Rory said.

"Wait, what do we do with our bags?" Lorelai asked.

"Slide them along the floor, it's not too far away," Rory responded before giving her bags a good push with her foot. Lorelai and Rory walked down two stores, pushing there bags along, before Rory stopped in front of the Sharper Image.

"What are we doing here?" Lorelai asked.

"You'll see, now come on in!" Rory said, pushing her bags into the store and scanning the store. When she found what she was looking for, she walked over to them. Lorelai was still following her, confused.

"Here they are," Rory said, motioning to four recliner chairs that were grouped togther.

"Oh my god, are those the chairs that give you a massage while you lay down?" Lorelai asked, clearly in awe at the child's brilliance.

"Yep. I came here with my dad when I was younger because we needed a new TV and I fell in love with these things. He wouldn't get one though," Rory said, putting her bags next to a chair and climbing into it. Lorelai did the same.

They lay in the massage chairs for about 20 minutes, talking and relaxing, until they were sure their polish was dry so they could pick up their bags. However, they agreed to stay an extra 10 minutes in their chairs, as they felt so good.

"Well, that was fun," Lorelai said as the girls walked out of the Sharper Image, bags in hands, "And it felt really good too." Rory nodded. They then decided to go back to the food court and get their ice cream. When the got there, the line was long, and the food court was crowded.

"Jeez, look at all of these people," Rory said, examining the crowd.

"I know, I didn't know this many people besides me liked processed Chinese food," Lorelai stated.

"How about you go wait in line for the ice cream and I'll take the bags and go get a table before these people steal all of the good ones," Rory proposed. Lorelai agreed, and Rory walked away to find a table among the people.

Rory spotted one of the only tables left, and immediately claimed it as her own. She set down the bags and sat down. She looked around the mall, and heard a little girl scream out, "MOMMY!". Rory then looked over and saw a girl who looked to be around 4 years old happily pulling on her mother's arm.

Rory was saddened when she saw this, memories flooding back. She tried to push them away, but it was a little bit difficult now that they had surfaced again. She tried to think of something else, but failed, as memories of her mother filled her head. Well, Rory supposed she was her mother. She never really knew what to call Rachel. Just then Lorelai walked up to the table with ice cream, and noticed the sad expression on Rory's face.

"Hey. What are you thinking about?" Lorelai asked, handing the kid an ice cream. Rory's head snapped around to look at Lorelai, as if she had forgotten that she was even in the mall with her.

"Oh, nothing," Rory said quickly. Lorelai frowned.

"It didn't seem like nothing. Come on, what was it?" Lorelai asked, moving a shopping bag off of the chair so she could sit down.

"I was just... I saw this little girl and her mom... and it got me thinking about my mom," Rory said, finishing in a whisper. Lorelai noticed that Rory seemed sad to be thinking about her mother, and wondered why. In the month that she had known the Danes's, she had never once heard even a mention of Rory's other parent.

"Oh. What happened to her?" Lorelai asked gently, thinking maybe she would want to talk about it.

"Which one?" Rory asked half-heartedly.

"You have more than one mother?"Lorelai asked, thoroughly confused.

"Well, I'm adopted, so I have no idea what my real mother was like. I actually don't know anything about her, except that I'm named after her. I think I got the nickname from her, that her name was Rory too, but I'm not sure, she might have been a Lorelai," Rory said. Lorelai nodded, "But I was actually thinking about my other mother. If she really is that."

"Who is that?" Lorelai asked, gently prodding on the girl.

"Her name is Rachel. She was dating Dad, and they adopted me together. I guess they were going to get married, or they were thinking about it, or something. All I know is that about three months after they brought me home, she left. In the middle of the night, she wrote a letter to Dad and said that she wanted more that what she had, that she wanted to travel. She never even said good-bye, to me or Dad," Rory said, saddened again. Why had Rachel not wanted to know her?

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Have you seen her since?" Lorelai asked.

"Oh yeah. See she kind of has a habit of coming back and leaving again quickly. She stopped by when I was four and left after only two weeks, saying that she wasn't ready for that much responsibility. Then she came by just for a three day visit when I was almost 6, and when I was 9 she came back claiming that she could now do the 'mom thing'. She didn't even last two months before she left again, and that was the last time I've seen her. So I don't even know if she is my mom or not, since I haven't seen her in almost three years, and haven't talked on the phone with her in about a month or two. It's really just been me and my dad," Rory said, finishing. Lorelai looked at the sad, mother-less girl in front of her, saddened. Rory had just poured her heart out to Lorelai, which in one way made her feel special that Rory trusted her enough to confide in her.

"I'm so sorry. But I'm sure that she didn't keep leaving because of you. Maybe she just wasn't ready for the responsibility of being a mom. You are quite a piece of work, kid," Lorelai said, causing Rory to smile weakly.

"Yeah..." Rory said, wiping away the small tears in the corners of her eyes.

The girls sat in the food court and ate the rest of their ice cream in silence. Hearing Rory go on and on about the two mothers she never knew made Lorelai think of the daughter she never knew, and never would.

Lorelai had no idea whatsoever that the kid she was thinking about was sitting right in front of her the entire time.

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**Well, how did you guys like it? PLEASE REVIEW! And also, I'm going to need some help before the next chapter. This won't come up for a few chapters, but I need you guys to answer me this question in your reviews:**

**Who should find out first that Rory and Lorelai are related: Rory, Luke, or Lorelai?**

**Tell me in your review! I have some ideas, but I'm going to need your opinions too! SO REVIEW!**

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	5. Chapter 4, Happy Birthday, Baby!

**A Lot Like Fate**

**Chapter Four: Happy Birthday, Baby!**

**Disclaimer: **As much as I wish I owned Gilmore Girls, I don't.

**A/N:** Well, here's the next chapter! Exactly a week after I told you I would have it out! I know, bad me. But I've been busy, I'm trying out for the school winter soccer team (indoor) and I'm running for Vice President of the freshmen class, so I have been busy. But I hope this chapter was worth the wait! I made it nice and long, just for you! So I hope you like it and review at the end!

**A/N2:** Sorry to you guys who don't like Paris, or think she is out of character, but I always thought that if she had some friends when she was younger, she wouldn't have turned out to be such a nut job when she was older. So just deal, its my story and I'll do what I want to!

**A/N3:** Shout out to the reviewer Sammy Ruthe! I liked the idea you gave me in your reveiw, so I tried to fit it in. The "I've got things to do and shoes to buy" line didn't really fit, but I put it in anyway because I love that line too!

**A/N4: **I know this is a lot of A/N's but... I HAVE 91 REVIEWS! LETS TRY TO HIT OVER 100 WITH THIS CHAPTER!

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"Happy Birthday!" Lorelai yelled walking into the diner on October 8th. Rory, who was taking an order near the door, turned around and smiled.

"Thanks!" she chirped.

"Come here," Lorelai said, pulling Rory into a one-armed hug. She would have given her a full hug but there was a bag in Lorelai's hand that prevented that from happening.

"What's in the bag?" Rory asked when Lorelai sat down at the counter and she went to get her a cup of coffee.

"Well, it's your pre-present," Lorelai said.

"Pre-present?" Rory asked.

"Yep. It's your present before the real present. I just wanted to give this to you now and I'll give you your big gift later," Lorelai said.

"You didn't have to get me anything," Rory said, blushing slightly.

"Course I did. Now open it!" Lorelai practically screamed. Rory opened the gift bag and pulled out a tiara and a pink banner that said "Birthday Girl" on it. Rory laughed.

"See, you can wear that to school so everyone knows that today is your birthday!" Lorelai said excitedly. Rory smiled.

"That is a good idea, but something tells me that will be against the strict dress code at Chilton," Rory said, causing Lorelai to frown.

"I hadn't even thought about that," Lorelai said. She thought for a moment before saying, "Can I see your backpack?" Rory handed Lorelai her yellow backpack and Lorelai wrapped the banner around the backpack so that the words "Birthday Girl" were clearly visible.

"Perfect," Rory said, laughing at the funny site.

"I can't think of anything to do with the tiara though..." Lorelai said.

"Darn. I'll wear it in Stars Hollow after I get home from school," Rory said.

"So what are you doing for your birthday?" Lorelai asked as she got herself a muffin, knowing that she could get away with it since Luke wasn't downstairs yet.

"What do you mean?" Rory asked.

"Like are you having a party or anything?" Lorelai asked. Rory shook her head.

"No, I usually don't have birthday parties, dad doesn't really like parties. Usually we just have cake and I go to a movie or something with Lane," Rory said, shrugging. Lorelai stared at her like she was crazy "What?" Rory asked.

"Are you telling me that you have never had a birthday party?" Lorelai asked.

"Not really," Rory answered, causing Lorelai to gasp.

"Oh my gosh! Well, we definitely need to do something about that! Tonight, you are going to have the biggest birthday bash of you lifetime! And that won't be just because it's your only one!" Lorelai vowed. Rory laughed.

"Looking forward to it. Well, I'd better get going to school," Rory said, and she grabbed her backpack at walked out the door. Lorelai sat there for a few moments, wondering where Luke was. She had the day off of work today, so she didn't have to leave anytime soon, but she just really wanted to see him.

Lorelai waited for a moment before she decided that she wanted a doughnut to go with her muffin. She reached over to the doughnut case and lifted up the lid, but right before she picked up the doughnut, she heard a yell coming from the staircase.

"Lorelai!" Luke yelled, coming down the stairs into the diner. Lorelai jumped and slammed the lid back down on the doughnut case, turning around to smile at Luke.

"What?" Lorelai said, feigning innocence.

"You can't get your own doughnut out of the doughnut case!" Luke said.

"Well, you weren't down here and I'm hungry," Lorelai said, pouting.

"Whatever," Luke said. He looked at Lorelai as she sipped her coffee. _She really is beautiful. Even if she is such an unhealthy eater. And she's always got something to say. That's just one of the many things I love about her, _Luke thought, _Wait, where on earth did that come from? I don't love Lorelai. We're just friends. I just meant I love her as a friend. That's it. And she doesn't like me that way either, so it doesn't matter anyway, _Luke thought. Lorelai was looking at him funnily and he was brought back down to earth.

"What?" Luke asked.

"I asked if I could have my doughnut now," Lorelai said, looking at him strangely.

"Oh, yeah," Luke said, getting her a chocolate doughnut with sprinkles and setting it on a napkin for her.

"Thanks," Lorelai said, smiling at him. Luke smiled back at her, and they looked at each other like that for a few seconds. However, the moment was soon ruined by Taylor yelling that he wanted coffee, and Luke had to hurry off.

Lorelai watched him work from the counter for a moment, smiling into her coffee cup. Soon the few people that were left in the diner were filing out, and only Lorelai and Kirk were left. Luke made sure that Kirk was set before walking over to the counter and beginning to wipe off the counter in front of Lorelai.

"Hey, don't you need to be getting into work?" Luke asked.

"No, I have the day off today," Lorelai said. Luke nodded, but Lorelai wasn't finished talking.

"So, Rory's birthday is today... she tells me she has never had a birthday party... tell me that is not true," Lorelai said. Luke stopped wiping and looked at her.

"Yeah, I've never really been one for parties, and she said she's never really wanted one before. I usually just extend her curfew a little and let her go somewhere with Lane... what?" Luke said, for by the time he was finished talking she was looking at him like he was insane.

"I didn't believe it when I heard it from her but oh my gosh! She's never had a birthday party! That is just sad!" Lorelai said. Luke rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," he said, "Maybe she can have a birthday this year."

"Oh, she is definitely having a party this year. I've been thinking about it, and I think I know of a DJ in Hartford, and we might be able to get Taylor to decorate the square, and..." Lorelai started, but stopped when she turned to look at Luke and saw that she was staring at her.

"Luke, is it okay with you if I throw her a birthday party? I mean, she is your kid, and it didn't even cross my mind to ask you, I'm so sorry." Lorelai said, thinking that Luke was staring at her in disbelief that she would try something like that.

"Sure. I don't care, and God knows how horrible it would be if I tried to throw her a party by myself. We can do it together," Luke said. Lorelai smiled.

"I like that idea," she said. She found herself looking at Luke again, but averted her eyes quickly. She packed up her purse to walk out, and put money on the counter to pay Luke with for breakfast.

"I'll be in my car, come out when you are ready to go," Lorelai said. Luke nodded and began to put the money in the register, but saw that she had given him the wrong amount.

"Lorelai, you gave me too much money," Luke said. She turned around just before walking out the door.

"Well, you see I kinda sorta had two cups of coffee before you came down," Lorelai said, smiling sweetly.

"What?" Luke yelled, exasperated.

"Bye Luke, gotta go, we have things to do and thing to buy!" Lorelai called quickly, bouncing out the diner door. Luke sighed as he looked at her, ready for what was sure to be an eventful day, shopping for party favors with Lorelai Gilmore.

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Rory Danes got off the bus in Hartford and walked up the walkway towards Chilton Junior High Academy. Not very many people here knew that it is her birthday today, as she doesn't really have any friends, but she knows that she has a great party to look forward to when she gets home. If the day at the mall was any indication, this would definitely be the best party ever.

Rory walked down the hall towards her locker, and sighed when she saw that Tristan DuGray was standing at his locker. Because of the wonderful alphabetical locker system, Rory's locker was only a few away from the immature kid (Danes, DuGray). Tristan burps and farts in class to be funny, and he is always making mean, stupid jokes. He is a 12 year old boy, but you think coming from such a wealthy family he would have some class.

Rory got her things from her locker as quickly as she could and walked off to her first class, honors pre-algebra. She set down her things and looked up to see Paris Geller sitting next to her, who was also getting out her things. Paris had left a very bad impression on the first day, but she had been a little bit nicer lately.

"Hi Rory," Paris said. Although she was usually rather bossy, her voice was kind and soft, and there was even a touch of sadness in there.

"Hi," Rory answered. Paris looked at her book bag.

"What's that?" Paris asked, pointing to the banner. Rory smiled.

"It's something from my friend. Today is my birthday, so she gave it to me this morning. It says Birthday Girl on it," Rory answered.

"Well, happy birthday," Paris said. She went on, "It must be nice having someone to wish you happy birthday. No one remembered my birthday this year. My mom was at a spa and my dad was on a business trip in Tokyo. Was your mom there this morning?" Paris asked.

"I don't have a mom," Rory said as thought it were the simplest thing in the world, as thought it didn't trouble her at all, "But Lorelai was there. That's who gave me the sash. She's my friend," Rory said.

"That's nice," Paris said.

"Yeah. Lorelai is going to throw me a big party. Her and my dad I think. They're friends too, because Lorelai is about the same age as my dad," Rory said. She didn't know why she was telling all of this to Paris, the person who was so mean to her on the first day of school, but it just seemed to come out so naturally.

"Oh," Paris said, a little bit disappointed. Rory sensed this and felt bad for making Paris unhappy. She had a sudden idea to make up for it.

"Hey, why don't you come to my party tonight. It'll be fun. Can you go?" Rory asked. Paris looked up, as though shocked. It was clear that she had never been invited to a social gathering such as this.

"Um. Yeah. My mom won't be home today, she has a meeting. But I should call Nanny just to make sure they don't worry. Are you sure?" Paris asked, as if thinking Rory would simply say, 'No, I changed my mind, I don't like you, you can't come."

"Of course I'm sure," Rory said, smiling at Paris. Paris returned the smile. She knew that Rory probably wasn't really her friend yet, but Paris had never really hung out with anyone before, and this was definitely a start. Just then the teacher walked into the room, and class started, with Rory and Paris both thinking about the prospect of a friend at this new school.

XoxoXOxoXOxoXO

Lorelai and Luke walked into the diner after a morning filled with shopping for Rory's birthday party. Lorelai sat down at the counter and Luke went behind the counter to look at her. Luckily there were not many people in there, so Luke didn't have to do any work. That is, except for getting Lorelai a cup of coffee of course.

"Okay, so let's go over the list again," Lorelai said. Luke nodded.

"Cake?" Luke said

"Check, Sookie is making it. Next?"

"Well, I'm providing food," Luke said

"And coffee!" Lorelai added. Luke sighed.

"And coffee," he added reluctantly.

"And, we got a DJ in Hartford today. And we made flyers to advertise it at Kinkos. And I flirted my way into making Taylor let us decorate the town square, so we have 30 tons of ribbons and balloons. I think we are good," Lorelai said.

"Yeah," Luke said. Lorelai stayed for a few more minutes, just enough time to finish her coffee, before she rushed toward the door to go start to decorate the town square. However, on her way out, there was a crash that came from the kitchen that caused her to scream.

"Ahhh! Oh my god! What was that?" Lorelai exclaimed, turning around sharply, clutching her to-go cup tightly in her hands. Luke looked at her and sighed.

"CAESAR!" Luke yelled. Caesar poked his head out of the kitchen.

"So sorry boss, won't happen again," Caesar said before hiding back in the kitchen.

"I thought Caesar was only going to work here that one day..." Lorelai said.

"Well, we left today, so I needed someone to do things today. So I figured I would just hire him for good," Luke said. Lorelai laughed. She thought Caesar was funny.

Lorelai left then, and went about decorating the square, as Luke began cooking enough food for most of the time. Both were excited for that night, but nearly as excited as Rory was.

XOxoXOxoXOxoXO

Rory sat on the bus to Stars Hollow, Paris sitting next to her. Paris was going to call her Nanny from the diner when they got into Stars Hollow. As the got close to the bus stop in the town square, Rory and Paris both noticed the commotion in the square. Taylor was standing near a cherry picker, and there were balloons, streamers, and other decorations everywhere. There was also a white truck parked in the street, and two men were carrying large pieces of stereo equipment out of it.

"What's going on?" Paris asked, fascinated by the working of the small town.

"I don't know," Rory said. She knew there weren't any festivals for the next few days. In fact, nothing was really happening at all for a while. Rory walked off the bus, Paris behind her, and saw Lane waiting for her on the sidewalk.

"Lane? What..." Rory started to say, but stopped as Lane shoved a blindfold on Rory's face and tied it behind her head.

"Sorry about this Rory. Lorelai told me to come to the bus stop and make sure you got straight home and didn't see anything. I took that to mean blindfolding you," Lane said.

"What? Why can't I see anything?" Rory asked. Then in dawned on her, "Is this all for my party?"

"Yes, but you aren't allowed to see anything that might ruin the surprise, hence the blindfold. I'm sorry about that by the way," Lane said. She then noticed Paris standing there.

"Who are you?" Lane asked politely.

"Oh, right! Lane, that's Paris. She goes to school with me and I invited her to my party. I hope that's okay," Rory said, gesturing between the two girls as best as she could without being able to see anything.

"Sure, that's fine, it's your party," Lane said.

"Can we get moving, it's kind of cold out here," Paris said, exasperated.

"Sure, yeah," Lane said and together the three of them made their way to Luke's, Paris and Lane both doing their best to prevent Rory from walking right into a bus or truck.

When they finally got to the diner, Paris was in awe.

"Wow, I've never been in a place like this before. Are you sure it's safe? I mean who is that guy in there with the flannel on? What's his deal?" Paris asked, obviously in awe.

"That's my dad," Rory said as they walked into the diner and Rory took off the blindfold. They three girls sat down, Rory explained to her dad who the odd jumpy girl was, and they ordered food. Before any of them knew it, it was time for the party to begin.

XOxoXOxoXOxoXO

The party was a great hit, over half the town was still there to celebrate two and a half hours into the party. It was dark out by this point, but that wasn't stopping anybody from having fun.

Lane was talking animatedly to the guy who was manning the DJ booth, asking question after question about music. Paris was talking to Rory, who had opened all of her presents already. The two huge cakes Sookie had made were almost gone by this point, and the same went for all of the food Luke had provided.

Lorelai stood on the curb, looking out over the town square. She located Rory, eating her third slice of cake and drinking coffee out of a plastic cup. She found Luke talking to his sister, Liz, who looked like she was some kind of a hippie chick. She saw Miss Patty hitting on one of the many unsuspecting male citizens in town. She smiled, glad at how the event had turned out.

She walked over to a bench that overlooked the square and sat down, with a cup of coffee in her hand of course. She found herself getting lost in her thought, and jumped slightly when she felt the bench shift slightly. She turned her head to see Luke had sat down next to her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Luke said. Lorelai tried to suppress the shiver that went down her spine at that moment. Whether it was from Luke's voice so close, or the light October chill, she will never know.

"No, it's okay. I was kind of lost in thought," Lorelai said, turning her head to smile at Luke.

"What were you thinking about?" Luke asked gently, sensing that it might be a sensitive subject.

"Oh, nothing," Lorelai said dismissively.

"Okay," Luke said, not wanting to push the matter. They sat in a comfortable silence, watching Rory as she ran around the square, happy as can be. Both smiled at the heart warming site.

"She looks so happy," Luke said proudly.

"Yeah," Lorelai said, smiling softly. She found herself wishing that she could have a kid like Rory, someone so happy and smart. Or hell, she just wanted to have any kid at all. It was times like these that really brought out the memories of her baby girl.

As if Luke was reading Lorelai's mind, he said, "Hey Lorelai, do you think you would ever want kinds some day? Unless you have a kid that just doesn't leave the house ever," Luke added the last part jokingly, causing Lorelai to chuckle. She sat quietly for a few moments, before she opened her mouth to answer. She didn't know why she was suddenly opening up to Luke, but it just felt right.

"Did I ever tell you that I had a kid?" Lorelai asked, turning her head to see Luke's reaction. He looked back at her with interest in his eyes.

"No," Luke said.

"Well, I did. I had a daughter. I had her when I was sixteen. A beautiful baby girl. I named her after myself too. I think my feminism just kind of kicked in. And the Demerol may have added to it," Lorelai said, chuckling a little bit.

"What ever happened to her?" Luke asked. Lorelai saddened.

"My Mom made me put her up for adoption. I grew up in a really ritzy part of Hartford, and it was unbelievably improper to have a child at such a young age. It was unacceptable. So my mom made me put her up for adoption," Lorelai said.

Luke sat there and listened to her, thinking about what she had just said. Things were starting to click into place for him. Lorelai had a daughter, named Lorelai, maybe even Rory, he didn't know. Luke wasn't sure just how old Lorelai was but having a kid at sixteen would mean that he daughter would be somewhere near Rory's age.

He knew it was absurd, that there was no way Lorelai was Rory's real mother, but everything seemed to fit, and before he could stop he found himself asking, "Whatever happened to her? Who adopted her?"

"I don't know. I never found out, the stubborn people wouldn't tell me. But it doesn't make a difference. Even if I had found out, I never would have seen my daughter again," Lorelai said, letting the few tears that had been gathering in her eyes finally fall.

"What do you mean?" Luke asked gently.

"One day, about two months after Rory was adopted, my mother got a call from the people who adopted her. She said they told her that she died of heart complications," Lorelai said, finally letting out a sob after muttering the last words.

Luke put his arm around her to comfort her as she cried.

"I'm so sorry," Luke said, his mind racing. He had really believed for a moment that Rory was her daughter. It all made sense. Well, except for the fact that Lorelai's kid was dead.

"Even now, I'm not sure I fully believe that. I find myself thinking, 'Maybe she's still out there,' or 'Maybe my mom lied'. But not even Emily is that bad. Not even Emily would lie about something like that, because I know that she wanted a grandchild just as much as I wanted a kid," Lorelai said.

The two sat in silence for a while, Lorelai trying to calm herself down. She finally gained control of her tears and wiped them away from her eyes.

"You okay now?" Luke asked as she turned to look at him. His arm was still around her, and it was then that both of them realized just how close they were, their faces only inches apart.

Lorelai looked deep into his blue eyes, barely noticing herself move in closer. She felt Luke's arm tighten around her, pulling her in closer. They were so close, only an inch apart... a half inch... a centimeter apart... their noses were almost touching...

BANG! Luke and Lorelai shot apart, both looking around wildly for the source of the commotion. Rory then came running over to them

"Come on you guys!" Rory yelled, taking each one of them by the hand, "Kirk has fireworks!" Lorelai laughed, having forgotten she had paid Kirk $20 to set off fireworks.

Lorelai glanced at Luke briefly as they walked over to the fireworks, and saw that he had been looking at her too. However, he quickly looked away, blushing slightly. Lorelai's mind was racing, not sure what had just happened. She had been so close to kissing Luke... but he probably thought it would just have been an accident, he probably just felt bad for her because she had lost a kid.

Lorelai pushed the kiss to the very back of her mind, as did Luke. It was nothing worth thinking about, and it was probably better that it didn't happen. After all, they were only friends.

XOxoXOxoXOxoXO

Well, there you go! I know there were a lot of breaks in this chapter, but I really had a lot to get in. So yeah. I really hope you liked it! Review and tell me what to think!

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P.S. Thank you to all of the people who reviewed last chapter telling me who you wanted to find out first. I really appreciate it, but I'm not going to tell you guys how I'm going to do it because that would definitely ruin the story! So just have faith in me!


	6. Chapter 5, Return of the Exes

**A Lot Like Fate**

**Chapter 5: Return of the exes**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything but John, and believe me, that is no honor.

**A/N: **Well, here is the next chapter! Sorry about the kind of long wait, I've been unbelievably busy! But now I'm on Christmas holiday, so I'm trying to update all of my stories. I'm leaving for England tomorrow though, so if I do manage to update A Second Chance, it won't be until after New Years. I'm kind of stuck on that though, so no promises. Anyway, back to this story! Thank you to all of my reviewers!! I've got over 100 now, isn't that insane? Well, anyway, I hope you like this chapter, and please review!!

XOxoXOxoXOxoXO

Lorelai walked into the diner on a Saturday morning, as per her routine. She looked around and spotted Luke re-filling a cup of coffee for Kirk and Rory sitting at the counter eating a muffin. It was around the time of the mid-morning lull, which was Lorelai's favorite time to come in on a Saturday. Partly because she got Luke and Rory mostly to herself and partly because she didn't want to get up early enough to get here when there were other people.

"Hello," Lorelai chirped, setting her purse down on the counter and sitting down next to Rory.

"Hey," Rory said after swallowing the bite of muffin in her mouth. The party had been the Friday before, but everyone was still thinking about it. Rory was remembering how wonderful it had been, and Lorelai and Luke were both stuck on the kiss that had almost taken place.

"What do you want, liquid death I presume?" Luke said, gesturing to the coffee pot.

"Yeah, coffee please," Lorelai said, noticing the bad mood that Luke was in.

"This stuff is going to kill you, you know that?" Luke said as he poured her a steaming hot cup of Joe. Or, more appropriately, a steaming hot cup of Luke.

"And what a way to go," Lorelai countered with a dreamy look on her face.

"Jeez," Luke said, putting the coffee pot down and bending down to get a rag. He then commenced wiping down the counter, with a scowl on his face.

"Hey, Luke, what's with the 'tude?" Lorelai asked. Luke sighed.

"It's nothing, I'm just a little bugged. You know those guys I went to see in Hartford a few weeks ago?" Luke said. He stopped wiping the counter and looked up at her.

"Yeah," Lorelai said, not really catching on.

"Well, they are coming here today to look at the place next door, and if they like it, they are going to rent it from me. That means tons of legal stuff, lawyers, contracts, business men in suits… fun, huh?" Luke said.

"Not really, sorry about that Luke," Lorelai said, feeling a little sorry for the man in front of her.

"Eh, it's okay. You want something to eat?" Luke asked.

"Pancakes please."

"Chocolate chip or blueberry?"

"Hmm, I think I'm going to go with the chocolate chip today," Lorelai responded.

"Good choice," Rory chimed in. Luke went about making Lorelai's food and Rory and Lorelai chatted for a little bit.

"Here's your pancakes, I hope death suits you," Luke said.

"Why thank you," Lorelai said, taking a bite of the steaming hot cakes.

"Hey, Lorelai, I need to go upstairs and check something, okay," Luke said.

"Yeah sure, you don't need me to make your decisions for you," Lorelai joked. Luke smiled and walked up the stairs.

"So, Rory, do you have any exciting plans for today?" Lorelai asked, turning to the girl sitting next to her.

"Well, Lane and I are going to the movies at 11:30. Oh no, what time is it?" Rory asked. Lorelai checked her watch.

"Oh, it's 11:17" Lorelai said. Rory got up from her seat.

"Shoot I've got to go! See you later!" Rory said. She ran towards the door looking back at Lorelai as she shouted her goodbyes. Right before she got to the door she made contact with something hard and fell down to the ground, screaming in shock.

"Rory!" Lorelai said, turning around, shocked. She looked up at the person who was looming over her and was even more shocked.

"Hey, watch where you are going, punk!" the man that Rory had collided with growled at her. Rory slowly stood up, her eyes wide.

"John!" Lorelai said, staring right at her ex-boyfriend The man who had actually hit her when he got frustrated at her was standing within 10 feet of her.

"Lorelai, there you are, I've been looking all over this God-forsaken little hick town for you. How have you been, honey?" John asked, taking a few steps closer to her, Rory still watching on in shock.

"Oh, I've been just fine, _honey_," Lorelai said, her voice venomous.

"Why don't you come back home with me, huh?" John asked, sitting down on a stool and starting to stroke her arm. Lorelai jerked her arm away from him and stood up.

"Why not? Maybe because I still have a slight bruise on my cheek from where you hit me! How about that for a reason!" Lorelai said, now raising her voice. Rory was shocked upon hearing that. _I thought she said she ran into something! _Rory thought.

"Oh come on. That was nothing. I know you still love me Lorelai. Emily told me that you did," he said.

"Emily? As in my oh-so- glorious mother?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah. She told me you were here and that I should come and try to win you back. So here I am, and we are going back," John said, reaching out to grab her arm again. Lorelai pulled her arm back and before she knew what she was doing she reached out and slapped him across the face.

"I am not going back with you," Lorelai said coldly.

"You are going to be sorry you ever did that," John said. He reached forward to grab her arms, and this time he succeeded. His hands firmly grasped her upper arms and she gasped in pain.

"Stop it John, that hurts!" Lorelai said, squirming around and trying to break his grip. However, this just made him hold on tighter.

"Come back to Michigan with me or you are going to be sorry you were ever born!" He said through clenched teeth. Just as tears started to stream down Lorelai's face, she heard Luke coming down the stairs.

"Hey!" Came a yell from a stairway and the three people in the diner turned to look at Luke (Kirk had left sometime while Luke was making Lorelai's pancakes because he had to feed Babette's cat).

"What do you think you are doing?" Luke said to John, walking closer to them.

"Just talking to my girlfriend here," John said, still holding onto Lorelai's arms.

"Girlfriend? I stopped being your girlfriend the minute you laid a hand on me back in Michigan, and I am definitely not going to be your girlfriend again anytime soon!" Lorelai spat at John.

"I advise you leave," Luke said forcefully, "Now."

"I'd like you see you make me," John said childishly. He had let go of Lorelai and had now turned to face Luke.

"I said, LEAVE!" Luke yelled at him and John glared at both Luke and Lorelai before turning around and walking out.

They all looked after him, tears still streaming lightly down Lorelai's face, and before he knew what he was doing, Luke reached over and pulled Lorelai into a hug. Lorelai buried her head in his shoulder, and she couldn't help but feel safe in his arms. Somewhere during the hug, Rory came over and Luke put an arm around her too. They broke apart, Rory left to go meet Lane, and Luke told Lorelai to sit on the counter.

Although it had been quite a shock to Rory, it hadn't affected her nearly as much as it had affected Lorelai.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked. Lorelai nodded, but as she opened her mouth to reassure him, her voice cracked and she soon found herself crying again. Luke put a sign on the door saying "closed for 15 minutes", took Lorelai upstairs and they sat on the couch together, Lorelai crying in his shoulder.

He gently asked her what was wrong and soon she found herself telling him everything about John. The way he treated her, the way he cheated on her. Everything. And he just took it all in. She was glad he was such a good listener.

"Are you sure you are okay now?" Luke asked for the millionth time as she got up from the couch and went to go wash her face in their bathroom. Lorelai took a moment to look around and saw that the place looked like it had been expanded on, like the area that is now Rory's room hadn't always existed.

"I'm sure, I'm fine. Look, Luke, I'm really sorry," Lorelai said as she walked out of the bathroom, all washed up.

"For what?" Luke asked confusedly.

"I just come into town and instantly start unloading all my problems onto your shoulder... I just wanted to say that... I'm sorry if I've been a burden," Lorelai said.

"You have been anything but," Luke said. Lorelai smiled. She slowly walked over to where Luke was standing. She looked into his handsome face and felt it drawing closer to hers. Her lips slowly curved upward into a smile as they came closer and closer to making contact's with Luke's.

"HELLO??" came a call from downstairs. Lorelai and Luke jumped apart, both blushing furiously.

"Is anyone here?" came another yell. Luke looked at his watch and cursed.

"Oh, shoot it's that guy who is here to look at the place next door," Luke said. Both Lorelai and Luke walked to the door, trying to pretend that nothing had happened. However they both failed miserably, and Lorelai's cheeks still had a fair bit of color in them.

Luke walked down the stairs ahead of Lorelai, and as she was just about to pull back the curtain she felt a familiar voice float towards her ears.

"Hey, Chris Hayden," said a voice. Lorelai's eyes shot open, not believing the day's odd turn of events.

Lorelai pulled back the curtain to see Christopher standing in front of her, for the first time since graduation. Although they never became friends again after he left her alone with the baby, they had been forced to continue attending the same school.

"Lore!" Chris said in shock, in the middle of shaking Luke's hand. Another man stood next to him, and both of them were wearing cheap looking suits.

"Hi," She said, crossing her arms in front of her.

"You, um, you two know each other?" Luke asked, looking a little bit lost.

"Yeah, Lore was my high school sweetheart," Chris said, walking closer to Lorelai, who was still sending him death glares.

"I would hardly call it that," Lorelai said. She then turned to Luke, "You know how I told you about my daughter, Rory? Well, Chris was her dad." The look in Luke's face was one of pure shock.

"Wow." Luke said.

"Wow is right, you look amazing Lore," Chris said.

"Oh get your jaw off the floor," Lorelai snapped, obviously still agitated that he would abandon the baby like he had.

"Oh, come on Lorelai! Are you honestly telling me that you are still mad about what happened between us over ten years ago?" Chris replied. Luke looked at the other man, as he could see the two of them would probably want to be left alone.

"Why don't we go outside and check out the building," Luke said, and the other man, called Frank, nodded and headed out the door with him.

"Lore, tell me you aren't still mad!" Chris exclaimed. Lorelai looked at him like he was insane.

"Of course I am still mad, I mean think about it Christopher! You get me pregnant, you say that you aren't going to back me up at all! If you had at least supported me somewhat, I would have been able to keep her, I just know it!" Lorelai exclaimed, tears coming to her eyes for what had to be the billionth time that week. _I really need to get some waterproof mascara_.

"So what? Nothing would have changed Lore! She still would have died two months later, it doesn't matter!" Chris yelled.

"Get out," Lorelai said, once again banishing her ex from Luke's diner, "Just get out, do your business with Luke and leave."

Chris looked like he was going to argue, but Lorelai's death glare made him rethink it. He walked out of the diner and went out to talk to Luke. Lorelai sighed deeply and moved over to the counter. She sat down and put her head in her arms on the counter. She heard the bell sound behind her. _I swear, if it's another boyfriend, I am going to flip out..._

"Lorelai, since Luke isn't here, could you make me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with the crusts cut off and a glass of milk?" Kirk...

Lorelai looked up at him before turning around and banging her head on the counter.

"Fine, you don't have to cut the crusts off if you don't want to."

XOxoXOxoXOxoXO

"You look like you need some coffee," Luke said and Lorelai nodded wearily. She had apparently fallen asleep like that, with her head on the counter, and hadn't been woken up until about an hour and a half later when Luke returned to the diner and reopened.

"More than you could ever imagine," Lorelai said, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She yawned and Luke smiled slightly, noticing just how cute she looked. Then Luke suddenly remembered something. In the midst of all the confusion and business deals she had completely forgotten that she had almost kissed Lorelai _again_ mere hours before.

Luke chanced a glance over at Lorelai and saw that she had once again put her head down on her arms. Despite the fact that it was about 2:30 pm, she looked exhausted._ And why shouldn't she? This day has been emotionally straining on her_.

Luke put a large mug of coffee in front of Lorelai, and she looked up at him and smiled.

"You are a lifesaver," Lorelai said as she picked up the cup and took a long sip of the liquid inside.

"Yeah, well, you have had a tough day," Luke said. He looked around the diner and saw that there were few enough people for him to be able to take a little break. He walked around to the other side of the counter and took a seat next to Lorelai.

"What a day. And it's only half over too!" Luke said.

"I know. I swear if one more random ex shows up today, I am going to lose my mind," Lorelai responded. Luke chuckled. Just then they heard the bell chime behind them.

"Probably Rory," Luke said. He turned around in his seat to receive quite a shock.

"Hi Luke," said a voice Lorelai didn't recognize. She turned around to see a tall, beautiful woman standing there. She had curly red hair on her head and a smile on her face.

"Rachel..." Luke breathed, and Lorelai's eyes shot open.

"You're Rachel?" Lorelai asked. The woman nodded and smiled wider, if that was possible.

Luke and Lorelai just stared at her for a few moments, until suddenly another person walked in the door.

"Rory!" Rachel exclaimed. Rory gasped when she saw the woman in front of her.

"Rachel!" She yelled, as Rachel enveloped her in a large hug. Luke and Lorelai both watched on with mixed emotions, but the one thing that was running through both of their minds is that this time Rachel had better be serious. This time, she better stay.

XOxoXOxoXOxoXO

There ya go, chapter 5! I hope you liked it, and again sorry about that wait. Review!!


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